Method and apparatus for dynamically presenting content using an interface for setting conditional network destinations

ABSTRACT

QR codes or the like are used in hardlink applications, by which different users may receive different information in response to a user&#39;s interaction with a touchpoint. The content delivered to a particular user in response to a hardlink code or a presented hyperlink may be dependent on the time of the scan, the geographic location of the user, a weather condition at the geographical location, personal information associated with the user, a number of previous scans of the code by prior individuals, and any combination of the these or other variables, which may be determined by an originator of the QR code or other party. User devices may be re-directed to alternate content or network addresses based on one or more programmed conditions.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 120 as a continuationof pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/154,538 entitled “METHODAND APPARATUS FOR DYNAMICALLY PRESENTING CONTENT USING AN INTERFACE FORSETTING CONDITIONAL NETWORK DESTINATIONS” filed in the name of Lim etal. on May 13, 2016, issuing as U.S. Pat. No. 9,826,049 on Nov. 21,2017, which, in turn, is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 14/936,643 entitled “METHOD AND APPARATUS FORDYNAMICALLY PRESENTING CONTENT IN RESPONSE TO USER INPUTS” filed in thename of Lim et al. on Nov. 9, 2015, issued as U.S. Pat. No. 9,405,844 onAug. 2, 2016, which, in turn, claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 120 as acontinuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/799,446entitled “METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DYNAMICALLY PRESENTING CONTENT INRESPONSE TO SUCCESSIVE SCANS OF A STATIC CODE” filed in the name of Limet al. on Mar. 13, 2013, which issued as U.S. Pat. No. 9,183,315 on Nov.10, 2015, which in turn claims priority as a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 13/040,208 entitled “METHOD AND APPARATUS FORDYNAMICALLY PRESENTING CONTENT IN RESPONSE TO SUCCESSIVE SCANS OF ASTATIC CODE” filed in the name of Lim et al. on Mar. 3, 2011, whichissued as U.S. Pat. No. 8,413,884 on Apr. 9, 2013; the '643 applicationabove further claiming priority under 35 U.S.C. § 120 as acontinuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/104,755entitled “METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PRESENTING CONTENT IN RESPONSE TOUSER INPUTS USING DYNAMIC INTELLIGENT PROFILING” as filed in the name ofLim et al. on Dec. 12, 2013, which issued as U.S. Pat. No. 9,224,157 onDec. 29, 2015, which in turn claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 120 as acontinuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/799,446 andits parent applications as above, and further claims priority under 35U.S.C. § 119 to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/736,140entitled “METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DYNAMIC INTELLIGENT PROFILING” filedin the name of Lim et al. on Dec. 12, 2012, the entirety of each of theforegoing applications being incorporated by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure generally relates to data processing, and in particularit relates to receiving information over a computer ortelecommunications network by scanning or otherwise entering codesdisplayed in the real world or online, such as barcodes, quick response(QR) codes, data representations, and other symbologies.

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE

One and two-dimensional barcodes, and other symbologies, have becomeubiquitous throughout the global marketplace, particularly with respectto product or item identification, and expediting merchant transactionsinvolving the same. For example, it has long been common practice toinclude a barcode or similar symbology on product packaging. Thesymbology includes encoded information that identifies the product in amanner recognizable by a computer. The symbology may be scanned by abarcode reader, which, in turn, decodes the symbology, therebyidentifying a purchased product or the like to the computer or a user.

While one-dimensional (1-D) barcodes rose to prominence since theirintroduction in the 1970' s, two-dimensional (2-D) barcodes have sincebeen developed, which boast the capacity to store greater amounts ofinformation than its predecessors. Such 2-D barcodes are now prevalent,for example, in mail and package delivery, as well as many otherindustries.

One particular category of 2-D barcodes, referred to collectively in themarketplace as Quick Response (QR) codes, have gained rapid acceptanceover the past decade with the proliferation of “smart” cellulartelephones and other personal data or communication devices. Althoughinitially used for tracking parts in vehicle manufacturing, QR codes arenow used in many diverse areas, such as commercial trackingapplications, as well as convenience-oriented applications aimedparticularly at smartphone users. QR codes can be used to display textto the user, add contact information to a user's device, open a webpage, or compose a text message or electronic mail message. Users canalso generate and print their own personalized, data-encoded QR code andpost it at various real-world locations or sites on the Internet. QRcodes oftentimes are used to store network or telephone communicationnetwork addresses, such as a link to a particular uniform resourcelocator (URL) on the Internet, or other computer network address.

QR codes may appear in magazines, on signs, buses, business cards, or onjust about any object or projection that individuals may come across inthe real world. Those having a smartphone equipped with a camera and anappropriate code reader software application can then scan the image ofthe QR code and receive the information encoded thereby. The linking ofdata to physical objects in this manner is commonly referred to as a“hardlink” or a “real-world hyperlink.”

In all prior uses of barcodes and like symbologies, there has been oneconsistent goal, namely to provide a means by which information returnedfrom a scan of the code is consistent each and every time the code isscanned. For example, when a barcode on a product is scanned, the sameproduct information is returned to users scanning that code every time.The Applicants now introduce a distinguishable use of symbologies, suchas QR codes, in hardlink applications. The techniques employed for QRCodes as disclosed herein are readily applicable to other types of userinputs to mobile or other computing devices.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure enables a method and apparatus for presentingdynamic content in response to successive indications, acknowledgements,inputs or scans of a static, unchanging, hardlink symbol or code that isvisually displayed to users or consumers at one or more real-world,physical, geographic locations or online. In particular, one aspect ofthe disclosure includes a method performed by a network-accessiblecomputer server system in communication with wireless devices of usersover a wireless communication network, such as a cellular telephonenetwork. The computer server system includes electronic memory forstoring a plurality of separate merchant site addresses incomputer-readable format. The electronic memory further stores one ormore rules for selecting a merchant site address from the plurality ofseparate merchant site addresses for transmission to a wireless deviceof a user over the wireless communication network in response to anindication of the hardlink code from the wireless device. Such rules aredependent on data determined from such received indications. Forexample, when an indication of the hardlink code is received from awireless device of a user, the system determines data that includes (i)an identification of the hardlink code scanned by the user, and at leastone of: (ii) a time of the indication, (iii) the geographic location ofthe wireless device at the time of the indication, and (iv) a weathercondition at the geographic location. Applying this data to the rules,the system selects a merchant site address from the plurality ofmerchant addresses and transmits the selected merchant site address, orcontent therefrom, to the wireless device of the user in response to theindication. The user may then enter into a transaction with the merchantin a variety of manners. A user interface is provided that enables anadministrator or other user to program conditional re-direction of webtraffic to one or more alternate network destinations based on the aboveand other useful conditions.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Further aspects of the present disclosure will be more readilyappreciated upon review of the detailed description of its variousembodiments, described below, when taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, of which:

FIG. 1 is an example of a code, such as a QR Code or smartcode, for usewith various embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a pictorial representation of a process of scanning a code andreceiving dynamically-selected content according to the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 3 is a pictorial representation of a process of scanning a code,sending a Short Message Service (SMS) text message, or entering a URLdisplayed in a real-world location and receiving dynamically-selectedcontent according to the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is an exemplary method performed by a QR code distributor or thelike for establishing and updating rules for dynamically presentingcontent in response to a scan of a QR code by a user according to thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 5 is an exemplary method performed by a user for scanning a QR codeor the like and receiving dynamic content in response thereto accordingto the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 is an exemplary method performed by a merchant for having itsmerchant site address identified to a user in response to a scan of a QRcode, or the like, according to the present disclosure;

FIG. 7-12 are screenshots depicting an exemplary manner in which rulesmay be established and applied to determine content to be delivered to auser in response to a scan of the QR code, or the like, according to thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 13 is a representation of a process for performing dynamicintelligent profiling with content and destination selection based onreal-world conditions according to the present disclosure;

FIG. 14 is a block diagram of exemplary functions presented on acomputer display for establishing scenarios for use with dynamicintelligent profiling according to the present disclosure;

FIG. 15 is an exemplary screen display presented to an administrator formanaging the dynamic intelligent profiling processes according to thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 16 is an exemplary process, performed by a web server, forpresenting a user interface for establishing conditional re-directiondestinations according to the present disclosure;

FIG. 17 is an exemplary screen display of a user interface presented toan administrator for establishing a condition-less re-directiondestination according to the present disclosure;

FIG. 18 is an exemplary screen display of a user interface presented toan administrator for establishing a conditional re-direction destinationaccording to the present disclosure;

FIG. 19 is an exemplary screen display of a user interface presented toan administrator for establishing multiple conditional re-directiondestinations according to the present disclosure;

FIG. 20 depicts exemplary programming for setting a new conditionalre-direction destination in accordance with the present disclosure; and

FIG. 21 depicts exemplary programming for setting one or moresupplementary conditional re-direction destinations in accordance withthe present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE SPECIFIC EMBODIMENTS

Referring now to FIGS. 1-21, wherein similar components of the presentdisclosure are referenced in like manner, various embodiments of amethod and system for selecting and dynamically presenting content inresponse to successive indications, acknowledgements, inputs or scans ofa static, hardlink code are disclosed.

Turning now to FIG. 1, there is depicted one type of QR code that may beused with the present disclosure. Information is typically encodedwithin such a QR code in two-dimensional formats in a variety of mannersthat are well known in the art. The data encoded in the QR Code, ofcourse, can not be changed since the underlying data is typically usedin the image generation of the code itself. Thus, every time that the QRcode is scanned the same data will be decoded from the image. In variousembodiments of the present disclosure, it should be recognized that theQR code may encode a computer network address, such as a UniformResource Locator (URL) address on the Internet. It should also bereadily appreciated that any type of data, code or symbology may be usedin place of a QR code, such as a one-dimensional barcode, atwo-dimensional barcode, a dataform, a dataglyph, alphanumeric text, aphotographic image, or any other symbologies heretofore known or laterdeveloped.

As depicted in FIG. 2, a consumer may use a wireless device 20 to scan,image or otherwise input a code, such as a QR code, encountered in thereal world. The wireless device 20 may be any type of device, heretoforeknown or later developed, which is operable to receive an input, imageor scan of a code by a consumer, and which further includes atransmitter and a receiver for communicating signals over a wirelesscommunications network. In various embodiments, the wireless device 20may be a cellular telephone having an imaging device, such as a still orvideo camera. The wireless device 20 may also include an interface, suchas a browser application, for accessing the Internet or other computernetwork. Examples of such web browsers include SAFARI, INTERNET EXPLORERand FIREFOX. The wireless device 20 may also include appropriate nativehardware and software to send and receive SMS or text messages, andelectronic mail messages. A proprietary application may optionally beprovided on the wireless device 20 to perform the scanning and/or webinterface functions described herein. The wireless device 20 mayadditionally include appropriate hardware and software for interactingwith a global positioning system (GPS), such that the wireless device 20may determine its geographic location. Additionally, the wireless device20 may include any of a variety of software applications for imaging anddecoding a code or symbol, such as a QR code. Examples of suchcode-reading applications include NEOREADER, MOBILETAG and CODE READER.Examples of cellular telephones on the market today that are equippedwith the features above include the IPHONE, BLACKBERRY, and ANDROIDsmartphones.

The wireless device 20 is operable to communicate bi-directionally witha computer server system 22 over any of a variety of communicationsnetworks. Such communications networks may include a cellular telephonenetwork, a cellular data network and a wireless computer network of thetype operated by VERIZON and AT&T. The communication network may provideaccess to any variety of hard-wired or wireless computer networks nowknown or heretofore developed, including, without limitation, local areanetworks, wide area networks, fiber optic networks, satellitecommunication networks, as well as the World Wide Web.

The computer server system 22 may be one or a group of distributed orcentralized network computer servers. Such servers, like any commonpersonal computer, include well-known processors, electronic memory,network communication hardware, user interfaces, input/output devices,operating system software, and application software suitable foraccomplishing the functions described herein. A suitable computer serversystem 22 may be one or more enterprise network servers of the typecommonly manufactured by CISCO, DELL and IBM. The computer server system22 may be configured to perform the functionalities described hereinthrough suitable programming in C++, JAVASCRIPT or the like, and mayinclude databases and database management software, for example, of thetype distributed by ORACLE. The computer server system 22, inconjunction with the hardware and software described above, may beprogrammed to act as an intelligent proxy with a decision engine thatincludes one or more rules, generated by a distributor of QR codes orthe like, which determine the content to deliver to the wireless device20 in response to an indication of a code received therefrom. Such ruleswill be described in more detail later below. The computer server system22 may operate a website on the Internet for interfacing with wirelessdevices 20. Based on established and updated rules, the computer serversystem 22 will deliver content to the wireless device 20, as describedfurther below.

With reference to FIG. 3, the wireless device 20 may be used to image orscan a code, and upon decoding of the same, to initiate a communicationwith a website operated by the computer server system 22. In additionalembodiments, however, such communications may instead be initiated bythe user transmitting a code to a specific SMS address via a textmessage, or the like. For example, a billboard or like display at aphysical location may present a code and/or a printed message, such as“Text “<alphanumeric code>” to <SMS address>.” When the user transmitsthe code to the SMS address with the wireless device 20, the computerserver system 22 may then determine what content to deliver to thewireless device 20 based on the aforementioned rules. Alternatively, orin addition thereto, the user may be presented with a website or URL toenter into a browser of the wireless device 20. When the wireless device20 accesses the website or sends an e-mail, the computer server system22 may determine the content to be delivered in reply according to theaforementioned rules.

In an alternate embodiment, the input of the code could be a photographor image of an offer, product, storefront, or any other image taken bythe camera of the wireless device 20 from which one or more imagefeatures may be recognized by the system 22 using known imagerecognition technology. Examples of such technology include software andservices provided by LOOK THAT UP (LTU) TECHNOLOGIES, SNAP TELL orGOOGLE GOGGLES. In addition, the input may come from a device such asGOOGLE GLASS or other augmented reality platforms. A rule may beestablished in the computer server system 22 that when a given featureis identified in an image submitted by the user, particular content isto be delivered in response.

In response to a scan or any other indication of a code received by thecomputer server system 22, the computer server system 22 may return anyof a variety of content. This includes a merchant web site address orweb page, a coupon from a merchant, audio/video content, photographs,business contact information, confirmation of sweepstakes entry or thelike. Such content is to be delivered according to the establishedrules. In various embodiments, the content to be delivered in responseto the code received from a user may be determined as follows. All codeinputs may be initially directed from wireless devices 20 to thecomputer server system 22. Based on the code, content, or otherinformation, and in accordance with the programmed rules, the computerserver system 22 may query to an internal database using one or moreparameters associated with or parsed from the received code. Theparameters are passed and the database results or content may bedelivered to the wireless device 20. The content may, in certaininstances, be a redirection to a merchant web site or the like. One ofordinary skill in the art will appreciate from the foregoing thatdynamic redirection of user's browsers to desired web site location canbe accomplished in this manner without placing cookies or other trackingimplementations on each user's wireless device 20, as was customarilydone in the prior art.

Turning now to FIG. 4, therein is depicted an exemplary method 40 forestablishing and updating rules that dynamically determine content to bepresented in response to a scan or other entry of a hardlink code by awireless device 20. At the outset, a QR code distributor or otheroperator of the computer server system 22 establishes a unique code,such as that depicted in FIG. 1, in which a web site address or URL isencoded (step 42). The encoded URL is the network address of thecomputer server system 20. The following steps of the method 40 are thenperformed in any suitable order.

Next, the unique code is visually displayed in the real world to usersat one or more geographical locations (step 44). Such locations mayinclude any area or object on which advertising may normally appear,such as billboards, newspapers, magazines, signs, posters, displayscreens, product packaging or any other usable location. The geographiclocation or locations at which the code is displayed may be noted andstored in the electronic memory of the computer server system 22.

The operator of the computer system server 22 that distributes the codesmay then establish rules for the content to be delivered in response toa scan or other indication of the code from a wireless device (step 46).The rules then may be updated, periodically, occasionally and/or asneeded (step 48).

The rules that are central to the operation of the present disclosuremay be based on data variables that are collected from, or in responseto, an indication of a scan or entry of a hardlink code that isdisplayed to users in the real world. Certain variables, which are onefocus of this disclosure, are those that also readily influencepurchasing decisions made by consumers. Some of the most universalvariables that globally affect purchasing decisions are: (i) time of dayor date, (ii) a location of the consumer, and (iii) prevailing weatherconditions at the geographical location of the consumer. Accordingly, itis a goal of the present disclosure to leverage the content that isdelivered to a consumer in response to scan or entry of a code based onat least these three variables.

For example, certain merchants may be interested in advertising usingthe code only during times of the day that the merchant is open forbusiness. Thus, a rule may be established that if a particular code isscanned by a user during the business hours of a merchant, then thatmerchant's content will be delivered in response to a scan or entry ofthat particular code. It is contemplated that certain hours or dateswill be more preferential to certain merchants, and fees charged tomerchants for delivering content at such preferred times may be adjustedaccordingly. The ability to deliver different content based on the timeof day or date ranges in response to separate scans or entries of thesame static hardlink code has not heretofore been described.

In an additional example, a single hardlink code may be distributed toand displayed in multiple locations. If the hardlink code is scanned bya user at a certain location, then the computer server system 22 maydetermine the location of the user (based on the GPS of the wirelessdevice 20 or the known location of the hardlink code) and delivercontent designated for that location based on the rules.

In a further example, certain merchants may notice increased demandduring a particular weather condition. Clothiers, for one, may noticethat consumers purchase more coats when it is raining. Accordingly, arule may be established that if it is raining at the geographic locationof the user, then certain content is to be delivered in response to ascan or other entry of the visually displayed code. The computer serversystem 22 may access weather information for the geographic location ofthe user by accessing or querying any number of weather sites on theInternet, such as WEATHER.COM, or may maintain its own database ofprevailing or predicted, local or regional weather conditions for thispurpose.

One or more such rules may be applied separately or in succession, andmay have a hierarchical priority or the like to resolve any conflictsthat may arise between the established rules. The rules may be updatedand adjusted from time to time based on consumer and vendor activity andpreferences.

In addition to rules based on a time, location and weather as describedabove, a wide variety of other variables may also be established. Forexample, content delivery may be based on the number of times that ahardlink code is scanned by one or more users. In such cases, thecontent delivery may be restricted to a certain number of deliveries,based on how many deliveries have been paid for by a particular merchantor other criteria.

Content delivery may also be based on any information known about theuser. For example, a user may register her wireless device 20 with thecomputer server system 22 by providing personal identificationinformation (name, address, telephone number), demographic information,and the like. The user may be assigned a unique user identifier by thecomputer server system 22 in response to such registration.Alternatively or additionally, users need not register with the computerserver system at all to be recognized thereby. Instead, a cookie orother identifier may be placed on the wireless device 20 when itinteracts with the computer server system 22. Thus, user interactionswith the computer server system 22 can be tracked anonymously, withoutany personal identification of the consumer or user, by use of suchcookie or identifier.

Rules may be based on additional variables, such as a number of timesusers have received certain content. There may be a rule that overridesall previous established rules, such as delivering emergencynotifications. The computer server system 22 may also provide end ofrange warning to indicate when certain rules are about to expire orreach their established, maximum threshold of delivery.

Turning now to FIG. 5, therein is depicted an exemplary method 50performed by a user for scanning or entering a hardlink code andreceiving dynamically-delivered content in response thereto. At theoutset, a user encounters a hardlink code that is visually displayed ata geographic location, and uses the wireless device 20 to scan orotherwise input the hardlink code (step 52). The wireless device 20 thensends an indication of the code to the computer server system 22 over awireless communications network (step 54). Where the code is a QR codeor other symbology, the wireless device may decode the scanned codeusing appropriate decoding software applications. The decoded hardlinkcode will then provide a URL and direct the wireless device 20 thereto.The computer server system is programmed to receive the indication ofthe hardlink code from the wireless device 20 and determine variablesassociated with the indication, such as (i) a time that the scan, inputor indication was generated, transmitted or received; (ii) thegeographic location of the wireless device 20; and (iii) a weathercondition at the geographic location. The computer server system willthen apply the established rules for such variables and deliver thecontent to the wireless device 20 that is determined from the rules(step 56). Where the content is a redirection to a merchant web site orthe like, the user will immediately be presented with, and may interactwith, the merchant web site via the wireless device 20, and even enterinto a transaction with the merchant (step 58). Alternatively, or inaddition thereto, content may be delivered to the user that requires theuser to physically present the content to the merchant at a merchant'sreal-world location. In other embodiments, more than one type of contentmay be offered to the user in response to a scan, and the user mayselect from two or more content delivery options, after which, theselected content is delivered.

A second user may scan the same code at the same location and receivethe same or separate content as a prior user, dependent upon how therules apply to the users' scans. In addition, the same code may bepresented at multiple locations, and users at the various locations mayreceive the same or separate content in response to scans of the code,also as dependent upon the rules.

As evident from the foregoing, when any user scans a hardlink code usingthe wireless device 20 with appropriate decoding software or the like,the hardlink code is decoded and the wireless device is initiallydirected to a network address of the computer server system 22 by thedecoded information. When the wireless device 20 communicates anindication of the scan of the hardlink code to the computer serversystem 22, the system 22 then determines certain variables from theindication, such as one or more of: (i) an identification of thehardlink code that was scanned or otherwise entered by the user; (ii) atime that the scan was performed, transmitted or received; (iii) ageographic location at which the user performed the scan, which may bedetermined from position/GPS information received from the wirelessdevice, from stored information regarding the location of the hardlinkcode that was scanned, or a variety of other manners; and (iv) a weathercondition at the geographic location, which may be determined byquerying a weather site or the like using the geographic locationinformation. Other variables may likewise be determined from theindication by the computer server system 22. Based the determinedvariables, and one or more programmed rules for selecting content basedon the rules, the computer server system 22, immediately selects anddelivers content required by the rules to the wireless device 20 inresponse to the indication of the scan, in such a manner that the usermay not even be aware of the initial contact with the computer serversystem 22. The content may be a redirection to a merchant website or thelike. After content delivery, the user may interact with the deliveredcontent as desired on the wireless device 20. Different users may thusreceive different content though they scan the exact same hardlink codeusing their wireless devices 20 in the real world. Finally, users mayenter a code in any of a variety of manners other than scanning. Toaccommodate those users not having cameras in their portablecommunication devices, for example, a hardlink code may alternatively oradditionally be provided with an SMS address to which a code may besent, or a URL to be entered into a web browser of the user's device.

Referring now to FIG. 6, therein is depicted an exemplary method 60performed by a merchant for having its merchant site address or contentidentified to a user in response to a scan or entry of a hardlink code.The method 60 may preferably be performed using suitable merchantservers in communication with the computer server system 22 over acomputer or communications network. Initially, the merchant determinesor identifies those conditions under which they would like their contentdelivered to users in response to the scan or entry of a code. Themerchant may indicate time of day, date range, geographic location,weather conditions, user attributes and the like as conditions fordeliver of their content. These variables are then used to generaterules under which the merchant content is to be delivered to a wirelessdevice 20 in response to a scan of a hardlink code. The user and the QRcode distributor may then agree to payment terms for delivery ofcontent, such as price per content delivery or number of deliveries(step 62). The merchant then provides or otherwise designates itscontent that is to be delivered in response to a scan or entry of a codeby a user (step 64). When users receive the merchant delivery they may,for example, interact with the merchant server and even enter into atransaction (step 66). The computer system server 22 may be programmedto track the number of content deliveries made according to the termswith a merchant over a given period and the merchant may receive reportsand invoices concerning such deliveries (step 66).

In the case where multiple merchants create conflicting conditions fordelivery, the merchants may competitively bid for priority with respectto those variables. Alternatively, priority to certain variables orcombination of variables may be presented on a first come, first servedbasis.

In addition to decisions made on content delivery, the computer serversystem 22 may maximize revenue for the system by presenting thehighest-bid offers to users before lower bids from merchants. Inaddition, the system 22 will also attempt to maximize merchant interestin the system. For example, a merchant with a low bid may still have hisoffers delivered at low-revenue times by the system 22. Similarly, thesystem 22 may determine lower-revenue time slots, and make lower-rateoffers to merchants for such time slots.

Turning now to FIGS. 7-12, therein are presented screenshots ofexemplary operator interfaces to the computer server system 22, whichdepict, in sequence, an exemplary manner by which rules may beestablished by an operator of the computer server system 22. The rulesare then applied to determine content to be delivered to a user inresponse to a scan of the hardlink code. In FIG. 7, an initial summaryscreen is presented in which there are presented two exemplary hardlinkcode identifications (“My Website” and “Coupon1”). Summary informationis presented on this initial screen, including (i) a group/campaign(i.e., merchant) to which the hardlink code belongs; (ii) a rule type(which may be either static or based on one or more dynamic variables)pertaining to the hardlink code; (iii) a status of the hardlink code(i.e., active or inactive); and (iv) a current URL or network addresshaving content to be delivered in response to a scan of the hardlinkcode by a wireless device 20. The operator has the opportunity to viewor edit the rules established for hardlink codes, or to view reportsassociated with the codes.

In FIG. 8, an exemplary editing screen of the operator interface of thecomputer server system 22 is presented. When rules for a hardlink codeare enabled, they may be static (i.e., the rule says the same content isalways to be delivered in response to a scan of the code by users).Instead, the rules may be dynamic, and based on previously mentionedvariables, such as: day, time of time, current weather conditions,number of scans of the code performed by users, or other availableoptions.

FIG. 9 presents an exemplary variable entry screen that is presented toan operator in response to a selection of a volume-based rule (aspresented as an option in FIG. 7) for a given hardlink code. Avolume-based rule may be based on number of scans (i.e. “hits”) of thecode. First content may be delivered for the first X number of hits andsecond content may be delivered for the next Y number of hits. Optionsmay be selected to indicate to the operator when an end range is beingreached rule, or that the criteria are to be repeated upon conclusion ofan end range. Other combinations or types of volume-based rules may alsobe employed.

FIG. 10 presents an exemplary variable entry screen that is presented toan operator in response to a selection of a weather-based rule (aspresented as an option in FIG. 7) for a given hardlink code. The weatherrule may be dependent on temperature and/or condition (rainy, snowy,cloudy, sunny). A combination of temperature range and weather conditionvariables may likewise be designated for particular content delivery.

FIG. 11 presents an exemplary variable entry screen that is presented toan operator in response to a selection of a time-of-day-based rule (aspresented as an option in FIG. 7) for a given hardlink code. Contentdelivery may be based on one or more time ranges. For example, a rulemay state that between the hours of 12 AM and 6 PM on Mondays, Content Xis to be delivered in response to a scan of the designated hardlink codeby a user, while between 6 PM and 12 AM on Mondays, Content Y is to bedelivered.

FIG. 12 presents an exemplary variable entry screen that is presented toan operator in response to a selection of a date range-based rule (aspresented as an option in FIG. 7) for a given hardlink code. Content maybe delivered based on one or more date ranges. For example, a rule maystate that between the dates of Oct. 11, 2001 and Oct. 31, 2011, ContentX is to be delivered in response to a scan of the designated hardlinkcode by a user, while between Nov. 1, 2011 and Nov. 30, 2011, Content Yis to be delivered.

Based on the foregoing, it is readily apparent that any number of rulesand combination of rules may be applied to determine content to bedelivered in response to a scan of a hardlink code by a consumer orindividual. The rules may be based on variables associated with a scanof a hardlink code and/or based on payment terms or bids from merchantsfor content delivery under predetermined conditions. In certainembodiments, the rules may be based on the price paid by merchants forpresenting their content to users in response to scans, the proximity ofa user scanning a code to a particular merchant, or preferences of theusers as established by submitted preference information and/ormonitoring of the user's scanning patterns that may optionally beperformed in a variety of known manners.

The methods and systems described in the foregoing enable a new mannerof leveraging advertising space or the like. Instead of a singlephysical display being dedicated to one advertising campaign or message,it can be dedicated to a wide variety of campaigns simultaneously. Usersscanning a given hardlink code will be dynamically served content thatare based on rules associated with the code and variables associatedwith the scan of the hardlink code by various users. Accordingly,certain novel methods of determining content delivery based on scans ofhardlink codes have been presented herein. Such methods and systems donot preclude all uses of QR codes or other codes for marketing ormessaging purposes, including those that heretofore existed. However,such methods and systems are readily distinguishable in that, in theprior art, the use of QR codes and the like are generally intended toserve the same information each and every time a code is scanned byvarious user devices, wherein in the present disclosure, differentcontent may be dynamically delivered to different users, or the sameuser at different times, based on any number of variables and rulesestablished for the hardlink code, all without ever having to replace orupdate the display of the hardlink code in the real-world after it hasbeen positioned.

Various possible uses of the methods and systems described herein willnow be described. In a first example, a single merchant may wish toprovide multiple sale offers to consumers at a specific retail location.There may be, for example, ten different hardlink codes locatedthroughout the store, each of which having separate offers designated bythe rules established for those codes. When a user scans a particularone of the codes located in the toy department, the user may receive oneof many available offers: on a summer day, the user may receive adigital coupon or offer for 10% off of rollerblades and bicyclingaccessories in the toy department.

In a second example, a store puts a permanent QR code in theirentranceway, offering users the ability to scan it on every visit forthe daily special. One day the store only has 100 of a particular offeravailable. The store sets their volume range so that after 100 scans,the system is programmed to change the offer.

In a third example, a shopping mall or other like location with multipleretail storefronts may have a single hardlink code displayed inlocations around the mall. Merchants within the mall can pay to havetheir content delivered from scans at certain locations within the mallor at particular times/dates. On a slightly larger scope, offers may bedisplayed for example on public transportation or other public locationsthroughout a city, county, state or even country-wide. Merchants withinthe given region can pay or bid to have their content delivered undervarious conditions from one or more of the city-wide hardlink codes.

On a busy city street, a company places a QR code with the caption‘Local deals on this street’. All merchants on the street are given alogin to an interface with the computer server system 22. Using theinterface, merchants can log in, modify their offers in real-time,adjust their current bid for impressions, select specific time or days,and set weather conditions.

As a final example, a merchant has an ongoing promotion revolving aroundtheir QR code. Shoppers can scan the hardlink codes presented in themerchant's store to receive offers or other promotions. However each dayone shopper will win a cash prize based on a randomly selected scan thatoccurs between, for example, 4 PM and 6 PM, when traffic to the storetend to be typically slow. Upon noticing the promotion, shoppers areattracted into the store at that time to scan the hardlink code. Thecomputer server system 22 may place a session variable, cookie, or otherdata tracking mechanism on the wireless device 20 of each shopper sothat each has only one opportunity to win. As customers scan the codewithin the store, one shopper is chosen as an instant winner, randomlyor based on designated variables. Where shoppers are registered with themerchant, instant win scans could become delayed win scans. For example,the merchant could have a promotion where shoppers are encouraged toscan a hardlink code from 4-6 PM. Since the shoppers are registered, themerchant may notify the winner via SMS to the user's cellphone, or inanother suitable manner.

In embodiments where an identity of a user submitting a code to thecomputer server system 22 is known, various additional embodiments arepossible. For example, it may be possible for an administrator toactivate QR Codes in the field once they are placed at a location in thereal world. Once a QR Code is placed, the administrator can scan thecode at a first instance. The computer server system 22 may recognizethat this is an initial scan of the code. The computer server system 22may further identify the user as an administrator based on parameterspassed with the scan, such as an identification of the administrator'suser device (i.e. by machine address code (MAC) or cellphone number).The administrator can also access and update parameters, data and rulesassociated with the activated codes. Upon recognition of theadministrator, the computer server system 22 may then activate the codeso that content will be delivered to subsequent scanning users. Thecomputer server system 22 may also determine the physical location ofthe QR Code from position or GPS data transmitted from theadministrator's device.

In certain additional embodiments, where the identity of a user (such asdemographic data, contact information, biographical data, and/ormarketing preferences) are known or established (such as by submissionof such data by web interface to the computer server system 22), thescanning activities of known users may be tracked and maintained in adatabase, and tracked users may receive customized content or otheradditional privileges or exclusive offers in response to scans ofhardlink QR Codes. In certain circumstances where a user can be uniquelyidentified (by MAC address or the like), but the actual identity of theuser is unknown or not provided, the activities of the user may insteadbe “anonymously” tracked, but in a manner that is otherwise similar tothat for users with known identities. Scanning patterns may be tracked,directly or anonymously, and content delivery may be based on priorscanning activities of known users. In such manner dynamic contentdelivery can include a degree of intelligence by including rules thatprevent delivery of certain content to a tracked user, even though suchcontent would otherwise be called for by the established general rules.For example, where the user has previously received such content inresponse to an earlier scan, or has otherwise indicated preferences suchthat a particular content should not be delivered, the rules mayover-ridden to select the next available content for delivery to thatuser.

The principles and functionality described in the foregoing with respectto hardlink codes can now be expanded to other useful media types andapplications, either for separate use or in conjunction with hardlinkcodes. In particular, the inventors have now implemented systems thatallow for single marketing piece, which may be provided in any of avariety of forms, and which may be viewed by millions of people, toprovide a custom-tailored journey for each individual consumer who viewsthe piece. Such systems and processes as now introduced, and sometimesreferred to herein as “DYNAMIC INTELLIGENT PROFILING” (DIP), allow anyparty to customize each consumer's experience in terms of content orpage destinations that are provided to consumers in response to consumerinteraction with a touchpoint. For example, such dynamically servedcontent or web page destination may be based on the aforementionedreal-world conditions affecting the consumer at the moment, such astime, date, location and weather, as well as the consumers' pastparticipation or exposure. DIP may be used with any mobile or computernetwork-based website, as well as any number of touchpoints, such asfrom packaging or other forms of media. The foregoing features of DIPare described in detail in commonly-owned co-pending U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 14/104,755, the entirety of which is herebyincorporated by reference.

DIP will add tremendous value to all consumer interactions. Customscenarios and triggers can be created to detect a specific pattern ofconsumer interaction, and then alter the content the consumer receivesbased on the interaction and conditions surrounding them. DIP will alsoallow marketers to analyze the results of all marketing efforts, bothtraditional and digital, to provide just-in-time offers and deliver themost relevant content via mobile and/or computer networks.

DIP may be implemented as plug- and play code that can be embedded inmobile or web sites and used with touchpoints such as hardlink codes,printed QR codes, SMS campaigns, social URLs (also known in the art asshort URLs), advertising URLs, e-mail, and other print or onlinemarketing initiatives. DIP will allow advertisers and marketers tocreate smarter mobile or web touchpoints that further enhance theconsumer experience.

DIP enables marketers to know how consumers interact with their brandacross all types of marketing campaigns. DIP knows the real-worldconditions surrounding the consumer during these interactions. DIP worksin real-time to collect mass consumer data while retaining individualuser anonymity, making marketing analytics reactive. DIP uses thisanonymous data to customize the experience, content and offers theconsumer receives based on definable scenarios ad triggers as discussedfurther herein.

As used herein, a scenario is a set of conditions and values created byan administrator via a logic builder within the DIP software platform.Administrators can link together multiple if/then statements to createsimple to complex conditions, or scenarios, which can be saved, namedand reported at scheduled intervals. A scenario serves two purposes: (i)it can be simulated against historical traffic data, then saved as areport for analysis by marketers, or (ii) it can be married to atrigger, as described further herein, so that actions can be performedwhen a condition is met. Logic conditions included in building ofscenarios may include: current date, local or global time, currentweather conditions in a region (such as temperature), location/timezone, number of previous visits by a customer, touchpoint entry type(QR, SMS, social link, etc.), history of site visits or multiple sitevisits by a customer.

Triggers are actions to be performed as a result of establishedscenarios. When logic created within a scenario is met by a visitingconsumer, a trigger is activated. The trigger is an action to beperformed within the visitor's current session. For example, a triggermay be created by an administrator to redirect a visitor meeting theconditions of a scenario to a new URL or new content at an existingwebsite, which are established for that scenario. Administrators canselect and customize any one of the following actions as triggers: (i)change current URL (e.g., implement a redirection of a customer browserto an alternate content page from that being visited), (ii) show or hidea HTML DIV content overlay on current page (e.g., create an overlay onthe current page being visited by the browser of the customer's device,which overlay may include image, video, text or the like), or (ii)dynamically create a content region at some place in the current pagebeing visited).

A touchpoint, as used herein, is any method of entry to or selection ofcontent performed by a customer or consumer, using their device, such asa computer or mobile communication device. Touchpoints should each havetheir own unique attributes so that traffic source through a touchpointcan be tracked. For example, an administrator of a marketing campaignmay want to see the number of QR scans versus the number of SMS entriesgenerated by consumers. A touchpoint may be any one of the following: ahardlink code, a QR code, a URL placed in an outbound SMS, a social URL(as used in social posts such as on TWITTER), a URL (such as may beplaced in an outbound email or email signature), a redirect code (to beplaced in a website or mobile site to detect and redirect customertraffic), a hyperlink to an address on a computer network, text or photoor video or audiovisual information placed within an e-mail, anNFC-originated URL (as may be programmed into an NFC tag), a custom URL(as may appear in auto-signatures of electronic messages), a socialmedia profile, radio advertisements, television advertisements, webvideo channels and the like. Touchpoints may also include any form ofprint media, product packing, marketing brochures and like collateral,billboards, storefront visual displays, and/or other visualpresentations. Upon establishing a touchpoint, administrators should beable to select all of the conditions, scenarios, and triggers to beassociated with such touchpoint. For example, a site owner may want tohave four unique QR codes (for four print magazines), one redirect code(for her main website), and two social URLs.

DIP is a three part system that takes into account the real-worldconditions that surround the mobile consumer interacting with a brand,and tailors their experience based on these conditions to enhancemonetization efforts. The first step for brands to utilize the power ofDIP is to add DIP's plug and play code into all existing traditionalmarketing efforts. Mobile or web embed code should be placed at the topof a web page just above the </head> tag. The embed code must befunctional to: (i) create, read and update an existing cookie, sessionvariable or value, or other readable and/or identifiable data structureon a client device upon browser interaction with a touchpoint; (ii) ifno existing relevant data structure exists on the customer device, thenset and establish a new data structure with a uniquely assignedidentifier (user id); (iii) upon page visit and successful cookieread/placement, connect to server database and report/page visitsincluding User ID, device time, device location (if allowed), device andinternet protocol (IP) address of the visiting device; (iv) redirectuser to an alternate page for selected scenarios; and (v) dynamicallycreate a DIV overlay for ad or content placement on existing page beingvisited for selected scenarios (such DIV may include a picture, videotext, or a short form that will send to an email address).

When creating embed code, administrators can select various parametersincluding: (i) ‘ask for location’ (a Boolean variable)—if selected,embed code will ask user input or query device for current device andcustomer location; and (ii) ‘location frequency’ (a numericvariable)—this sets how often to obtain location information, such as:always, every hour, every day, etc.

This embedding starts the flow of consumer data into the second part ofthe DIP platform, sometimes referred to herein as the REACTIVE ANALYTICSengine. In operation, detailed information that is gathered from themultitude of anonymous user sessions generated from one or moretouchpoints are electronically stored and transmitted to DIP's REACTIVEANALYTICS engine, which works in real-time to deliver a tailoredconsumer experience based on scenarios that have been created byadministrators for a marketing campaign or the like.

DIP's scenarios are designed to change the consumer experience, creatingthe most simple path to monetization. In the simple scenario builderprovided by the DIP platform and displayed to administrators via a userinterface (UI), brands can treat mobile consumers differently based ontheir local weather, past participation, local inventory, day, time anddate and other conditions as herein described. The real-time REACTIVEANALYTICS engine makes all of a brands traditional marketing smarter.REACTIVE ANALYTICS works with URLs provided via e-mail, links on searchengines or requests provided to search engines (e.g., GOOGLE, YAHOO),profiles on social media sites (i.e., TWITTER or FACEBOOK), hardlinkcodes or other indicia placed on product packaging (which may be scannedor imaged by customer devices), print ads or URLs placed in print mediasuch as magazines or newspapers, any audio, visual, or audiovisual media(e.g., television, radio, YOUTUBE), print collateral such as directmailings or marketing brochures, mobile advertisements on mobilewebsites (such as are presented to browsers of mobile communicationdevices), storefronts, billboards, and the like. In this manner, andaccording to the teachings of the present disclosure, traditional printand digital campaigns can come together to reward consumers and campaignadministrators in real-time. The DIP platform preferably provides anextremely easy to use interface that allows those with no technicalbackground to create complex scenarios, which control the destination ofa user based on any number of variables.

In accordance with the foregoing, a computing device may receive ahardlink code in response to a search request entered by a user into asearch engine, such as GOOGLE. In various such embodiments, the hardlinkcode may comprise one or more hyperlinks, such as are typicallypresented with a plurality of search results in response to a web-basedsearch request. Using the computing device, the user may select one ormore hyperlinks and be re-directed to a merchant website in the mannerspreviously described. In additional embodiments, the hardlink code maybe a hyperlink presented in a message, such as an electronic mailmessage or a cellular text message, or on a web page presented by a webbrowser on a display of the computing device. In various embodiments,the hyperlink code comprises a hyperlink presented on the device. Invarious embodiments, one or more of the hyperlinks that are so presentedmay be selected based on the geographic location of the user, the timeat the geographic location of the user and the weather condition at thegeographic location of the user. It is further contemplated that searchresults comprising the hyperlinks as presented on the computing devicemay be selected in part based on the search request entered by the useras well as the geographic location of the user, the time at thegeographic location of the user and the weather condition at thegeographic location of the user. In such embodiments, the ranking ofsearch results may be altered based on the geographic location of theuser, the time at the geographic location of the user and the weathercondition at the geographic location of the user. For example, given aset of search results A, B and C, a standard search request may resultin the search results being presented in the ranked order A, B, and thenC according to their relevance to the search request. In the embodimentsdescribed immediately above, the ranking of the search results may bealtered, for example, to be presented as A, C and then B, based on ahigher relevance given to C over B given the relevance of the geographiclocation of the user, the time at the geographic location of the userand the weather condition at the geographic location of the user.

One example of a complex scenario established by an administrator is asfollows. For all sessions initiated by a customer device interactingwith a touchpoint, if (i) Customer Location=New York City, (ii) Time atCustomer Location=6 AM to 9 AM, (iii) Current Date=September 1 toSeptember 15, (iv) Number of Visits by Customer (per cookie data)>3; (v)Average Length of Previous Customer Visit >1 minute; (vi) CurrentTemperature=70 to 80° F., and (vii) Touchpoint Used to InitiateSession=scanned QR code; then provide a designated offer stored inelectronic memory to the customer device during the current session.

An example of a simpler scenario established by an administrator is asfollows. This administrator runs a campaign in the month of January forone dollar off a cup of a hot or cold drink upon the first scan of ahardlink code, such as a QR code, depending on the temperature at thelocation of the customer. Upon additional scans, a second offer ispresented to a customer. This campaign thus provides a differentexperience for consumers based on the real world conditions surroundingthem, as well as their past interactions with the administrator's brandor company. According to such a scenario, a consumer in New York City,where it is 35° F., scans the QR code for the first time is driven to acoupon for one dollar off a hot coffee. A different consumer in SanDiego scans the same QR code displayed in his location for the firsttime, where it is 85° F., and is driven to a coupon for one dollar offan iced coffee. A third consumer is scanning the QR code for the secondtime and is instead driven to a coupon for fifty cents off a breakfastsandwich, in order to try and encourage additional sales.

Using DIP technology, not only willvendors/marketers/companies/administrators be able to learn about how auser interacts with one brand or product, they will also have theability to cross pollinate results based on usage throughout all brandsand products for which scenarios and triggers have been established.Retailers who manage multiple brands can advantageously manage multiplebrands under a single campaign managed with the DIP platform. However,should privacy laws not allow them to take advantage of crosspollination among different brands, they can instead create scenariosand run reports based on each individual brand and later combine theoverall results.

Turning to FIG. 13, therein is depicted a representation of a processfor performing dynamic intelligent profiling with content anddestination selection based on real-world conditions. As shown therein,various customer devices 1304, such as smartphones, interact with atouchpoint established by an administrator. Given the touchpointsdescribed herein, such exemplary customer or consumer interactions mayinclude: a scan of a hardlink or QR code by the customer's device, aselection of any type of URL on a website or in an e-mail or SMSmessage, a snapshot or photograph or similar capture of productpackaging or print media or store display or billboard or other printmedia by the customer's device, a visit to a social media profile orsite using a browser of the customer's device, an entry of a search intoa search engine visited/accessed by the customer's device, a capture ofaudio/visual/audiovisual information captured by a microphone, camera,or browser of the customer's device, and other similar such interactionswith described touchpoints.

The administrator sets up various scenarios via an administratorinterface 1302 to the DIP platform. Depending on which scenario issatisfied by a particular customer, different destinations or contentmay be provided to the customer devices 1304. Such exemplary scenariosmay be as follows:

Scenario 1: If the consumer has visited multiple times in the last 15days; and is located in New York; and interacted with the touchpoint viadirect mail or a social media site; then serve such customer anexclusive video page.

Scenario 2: If the temperature is above 85°; and it is between 7 AM and11 AM; and the consumer is located in California; then serve an offerfor $1.00 off a 16 oz iced coffee.

Scenario 3: If the consumer is located in NY, NJ, CT, PA or MA; enteredthe touchpoint via a scan of a QR code on product packaging; and thedate range is between April 1 and July 1; then serve a page where thecustomer may complete a contest entry form via their device 1304.

DIP thus gives non-technical users the ability to create complexscenarios using a simple logic-based scenario builder. These scenarioswill lead to higher monetization through a more tailored user experiencebased on the real-time customer interaction data that is anonymouslygathered and stored by DIP. DIP's REACTIVE ANALYTICS make mobile andtraditional websites smarter. Simply pasting the plug and play codebelow current analytics coding allows administrators to readily alterthe offers and ads seen by visitors to your brands mobile website. Now,you can encourage new and additional consumer interactions with yourbrand that will provide an enhanced consumer experience, leading tohigher brand loyalty and mobile monetization. DIP works with existingmobilize-enabled websites in particular and changes consumer experiencewith a touchpoint based on surrounding real-world conditions(GPS/Location, weather, date, time) and past user behavior (e.g., numberof previous customer visit to a touchpoint). This functionality is notonly useful to administrators of marketing campaigns, but also creates areason for a consumer to return to a touchpoint and interact multipletimes, since it can provide new content to a consumer with every newinteraction or session.

The final component of the DIP platform contemplates use of INTELLIGENTPACKAGING and interactive marketing collateral to enhance customerexperience with a brand or product. INTELLIGENT PACKAGING takesadvantage of generally unused potential marketing real estate, namelythe packaging of a real-world product. By establishing the productpackaging as an interactive touchpoint for consumers (such as byscanning the static product packaging with a customer's computer ormobile communications device) encouraging multiple interactions betweena customer and a brand. It also allows brands to provide up-to-date anddynamic promotions, advertising and video without the need to reprintproduct packaging for each campaign. Thus, brands can encourage new andadditional consumer interactions that will provide an enhanced consumerexperience, leading to higher brand loyalty and monetization. Customerexperiences with interactions with product packaging can change based onsurrounding real-world conditions and past user behavior such asGPS/Location, weather, day, time, local inventory of a product, andnumber of past interactions or visits by a customer.

Similar to INTELLIGENT PACKAGING, Interactive Collateral can make staticprint media come alive in the same manner. Marketers can turn anotherwise static marketing piece into an engaging branding opportunitywith differing experiences to customers. Now, marketers can encouragenew and additional consumer interactions with their brand that willprovide an enhanced consumer experience, leading to higher brand loyaltyand mobile monetization. Interactive collateral thus gives static printmedia a dynamic voice, and changes the consumer experience based onsurrounding real-world conditions and past user behavior, such asGPS/location, weather, date, time, local inventory and number of pastcustomer visits. Interactive collateral serves customized content toconsumers, maximizing return on investment potential and encouragingmultiple, repeat customer interactions. It also eliminates reprintingcosts by allowing brands to dynamically change promotions being offeredwithout reprinting the print media. In this manner, DIP bridges the gapbetween the physical and the digital world in manners that haveheretofore not been contemplated.

Recapping the foregoing discussions, DIP implementation can beaccomplished by embedding DIP plug and play code. DIP allows brands tocreate mobile, web or real-world touchpoints, and provides a simpleinterface for the creations of scenarios and triggers. DIP conglomeratesand reports on all marketing touchpoints that have been established andstores session-based anonymous user data for subsequent use andanalysis. DIP records real-time, real-world conditions surrounding theconsumer at the time of interaction, adjusts the content based onscenarios to increase chances of monetizing consumer engagement, with nosignificant delay in bringing offers, promotions and content to market.

Turning now to FIG. 14, therein is depicted a block diagram of anexemplary hierarchy of functions presented to an administrator on acomputer display for establishing scenarios for use with DIP. The DIPplatform will have a hierarchy of functions similar to the environmentin which it is meant to be used. Each block in FIG. 14 represents aselectable function or sub-function available to the administrator. Asdepicted therein with component blocks representing functions providedvia the DIP platform interface, an exemplary hierarchy of such functionsmay be as follows:

Companies->Brands->mSites->Campaigns->Touchpoints

Company: This is the company account or accounts represented by anadministrator.

Brand: A company can have multiple brands and each brand can haveestablished ‘states,’ such as Active or Inactive.

mSites: is the mobile site of a brand. Brands can have multiple mSites.mSites may be classified as either a Main, Micro, or Landing Pages.Although they're not dependent on each other, these classifications aresimply for distinction and reporting/scenario options. mSites can havedefined states, such as Live or Offline.

Campaigns: Campaigns are assigned to one or more Brands, and are anorganizational tool within which multiple touchpoints can be placed. Forexample, a company undertaking a print campaign can also have any numberof accompanying QR codes, SMS, URL or other print and non-printtouchpoints within the campaign. Touchpoints do not have to beassociated with a campaign since it's optional to the administrator,however, campaigns can have defined ‘states’, such as Active orArchived.

Touchpoints: touchpoints preferably belong to a single brand, and ifdesired, a single campaign. They do not need to be contained within acampaign. Touchpoints can have administrator defined states, such asActive or Archived.

Reactions and Reports: accesses stored data on customer reactionsreceived regarding DIP-implemented campaigns, and generates reportsrequested by the administrator of a campaign. The reports may begenerated on demand or at specified intervals and may contain anyanalytical information that has been captured by DIP.

The hierarchy above assumes the Administrator is at the highest userlevel, to which all DIP functionality and settings are available. Lowerlevel users may be provided with access to the DIP platform for acampaign and may have limited functionality or otherwise have somefunctionality removed at the discretion of the administrator.

Turning now to FIG. 15, therein is depicted an exemplary user interface1502 presented to an administrator for example on a computer display formanaging the dynamic intelligent profiling processes described hereinand viewing the results of DIP implementation, according to theexemplary hierarchy of FIG. 14. This interface 1502 may be provided on aweb page accessible to the administrator. The exemplary interface 1502may be a more detailed version of the administrator interface 1302 ofFIG. 13.

The following menu options may be available to an administrator on amenu bar or the like on the administrator interface 1502 via the DIPplatform:

Home|Companies|Brands|mSites|Campaigns|Touchpoints|Scenarios|Triggers|ContentManager|Reports|Help/Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ).

Various of these available exemplary functions are more fully-definedimmediately below:

Home: selection of this function may bring the administrator or otheruser to a front page of the DIP platform for their campaign. Optionsunder the Home function may include: Full site navigation/currentvisitor statistics/brand list and statistics/mSite list andstatistics/Visitor overview (all brands);

Brands: Selecting this function allows an administrator to create new orediting existing brand campaigns maintained by DIP. Options under theBrands function may include: Current visitor statistics for abrand/Current statistics for all brands/campaigns/Brand name/Visitordata/mSites statistics/rename brand/archive data/reports generation;

mSites: Selecting this functions allows an administrator to create orassign new touchpoints for a campaign or to view statistics on existingtouchpoints. Options under the mSites function may include: Currentvisitor statistics/List of all mSites and statistics/mSite type/datecreated/rename/archive/install DIP embed code/create-editreports/create-edit scenario;

Campaigns: Selecting this function allows an administrator to create newor edit existing campaigns stored by the DIP platform. Options under theCampaigns function may include: Current visitor statistics/List of allcampaigns and statistics/date created/Campaign name/Brandname/Touchpoints/Visitor statistics/rename/archive/reports/createscenario/New Campaign/View archived Campaigns;

Touchpoints: Selecting this functions allows an administrator to createor assign new touchpoints for a campaign or to view statistics onexisting touchpoints. Options under the Touchpoints function mayinclude: Current visitor statistics/List of all Touchpoints andstatistics/date created/touchpoint name/applicable brand(s)/datecreated/visitor statistics/rename/archive/reports/create;

Scenarios: This functions presents the administrator with asoftware-based logic builder for generating Scenarios, or conditions,for responding to a customer interaction with a touchpoint in acampaign. Options under the Scenario function may include: Createlogic/simulate Scenario/effective date range/Scenario frequency 9 e.g.,number of times active per hour, day, week, month, etc.)/saveScenario/view associated Triggers/rename scenario/archivescenario/establish recognizable URL/QR image for scenario/reports/createnew Touchpoint(s)/view touchpoint archive/;

Triggers: This function allows an administrator to edit or createtriggers, representing actions to be taken in response to a customerinteraction with a touchpoint and/or the matching of a customer behavioror real-world variables with a scenario created by the administrator.Options available under the Triggers function may include: /Create newtrigger/Edit existing trigger/save trigger/view all triggers/triggertype (e.g., redirection page, create ad region on existing page, launchof overlay advertisement, and/or web content to serve from storedcontent library and accessible by the Content Manager function);

Content Manager: This is the library for all content to be associatedwith triggers. Content types may include overlay units that may bepresented on a device display as a pop-up window in a browser andin-page units that are positioned on a web page being viewed on adevice. Options available under the Content Manager may include: /Createnew content (content building logic)/edit existing content/view allcontent/archive content/view archive/.

In various embodiments described herein, the plug-and-play software codefor implementing the DIP platform may include JAVASCRIPT functionality.The DIP platform advantageously includes parameters that flag internaltest hits to a campaign touchpoint, so that such interactions are notrecorded as consumer statistics that are being monitored and stored. TheDIP platform may include additional programmed functionality formonitoring, flagging and reporting anomalously high consumer trafficpatterns based on comparisons to current and/or previous campaigns. Suchanomalies may readily reflect a successful campaign. Other uses foranomalous traffic patterns will be readily apparent to one of ordinaryskill in the art.

In all the foregoing embodiments, as well as in other practical uses, itmay be desirable to dynamically re-direct web traffic received inresponse to a touchpoint to a plurality of dynamically determinednetwork addresses, rather than to a single static address, as has beenthe overwhelming norm in existing network technologies and practices.Such dynamic re-direction of received web traffic may be routed todiffering destinations under various programmed conditions. In variousembodiments, the re-directions are to a website. In various embodiments,the re-directions may be to differing digital content destinations onthe same destination server. In the latter case, such differing digitalcontent may include, without limitation, an Application ProgramInterface (API) or database call or a call to separate web pages on thesame web site. The digital content may include any of text, photo,audio, visual, and/or audio-visual data that may be presented to are-directed user on the user device. In various embodiments, thevariables used for conditions may be operating parameters of networkedconnected devices, sometimes referred to as the Internet of Things(IoT). In many of the foregoing embodiments, such condition variable maybe a geographic location of a user interacting with a touchpoint, and atime of day and a weather condition at that geographic location.However, this functionality may be expanded to include any one or moreof a wide variety of determinable conditions, such as a user devicetype, a radial distance from a geographic location, a future orforecasted weather condition, a historical weather condition, a past,present or future individual weather variable (i.e., temperature orhumidity), an outcome of a pseudo-random number generator, a user'sreferral status, a returning user status, a frequency of touchpointinteraction by a user, a history of touchpoint interactions of a user, asocial media activity of a user, a social media trending topic, and akeyword search entered into a search engine by a user. Indeed conditionvariables may include any available data variable(s) that are verifiablevia electronic requests and receipt of relevant real-time data andinformation such as is readily available over the computer network.Exemplary data variables may include, without limitation, a productinventory level as may be electronically stored in a network-accessibledatabase, a score of a sports game, a present value of a stock marketticker, and the like.

In order to establish such programmed conditions, a graphical userinterface may be generated and provided by the web server hosting thisre-direction service, such as server system 22 above. The graphical userinterface may be accessed, programmed and re-programmed by anadministrator or other authorized via a remote computing device incommunication with the web server over the computer network. Thegraphical user interface may sometimes be referenced herein asLINKNEXUS. Various embodiments of a suitable LINKNEXUS interface aredepicted in FIGS. 17-19 below. However, many other possible and usefulvariations of the interface are readily contemplated by one of ordinaryskill in the art. Accordingly, these depictions are meant to beexemplary and not limiting. Using the LINKNEXUS or other interface ofsimilar functionality, the administrator or other user may programdesired conditions by which all or selected web traffic (such asresulting from users interacting with touchpoints) will be automaticallyand continuously be redirected from one network destination to analternate network destination or destinations, based on the satisfaction(or not) of one or more established conditions. For example, aprogrammed condition may be of the form: “IF <user's weathercondition>=‘RAINY’ THEN set network destination=‘http://<networkdestination 2 URL>’, ELSE set network destination=‘http://<networkdestination 1 URL>’. Multiple conditions and sub-conditions may be setas described further herein. Multiple alternate network destinations maylikewise be programmed and alternated for each condition. The conditionsthemselves may also be dynamic and not static, and based on any numberof the described variables herein and contemplated equivalents.Programmed conditions and destinations can be tested and simulated priorto actual implementation, and, if necessary, re-accessed andre-programmed by the administrator or other user. The potential outcomeof real or simulated network traffic may be monitored during simulation.Once all conditions are finalized, the re-direction server willre-direct incoming or received web traffic to the programmeddestinations, based on which programmed conditions are satisfied.

FIG. 16 is an exemplary re-direction programming process 160, performedby a re-direction server, by which programmed or re-programmedconditional re-direction destinations are established according to thepresent disclosure. The process 160 commences at step 161 when anadministrator or other authorized user logs into the re-direction webserver hosting the user interface from a remote computing device. Thelogin may be via entry of an authorized login identifier and associatedpassword, the entry of security question, or biometric scan, such asthumbprint verification, or by any other conventional manner of serverlogin. Responsive to a valid login, the redirection server presents agraphical user interface for setting conditions and re-directiondestinations.

Next, at step 162, a first condition is established by the receipt ofinputs from the remote access device corresponding to the user'sselection of an active node for placement on the graphical userinterface. The active node may be a visual icon or the like representinga first programmed condition, such as presented in and described belowwith respect to FIGS. 17-19. The programmed condition may be a variablethat can be queried and verified by the re-direction server over thecomputer network without human intervention. The programmed conditionmay initially be entered in a human recognizable language andsubsequently converted to a useful computer processing language by anyof a variety of conventional natural language translators. A set ofpre-programmed condition types may be provided and selectable from thegraphical user interface. The administrator may also create customconditions via further specialized programming. A textual representationof the condition may be presented on the graphical user interface inproximity with its corresponding active node. Alternatively or inaddition thereto, the textual representation for the programmedcondition may likewise be viewed by selecting or hovering over thevisual icon using a user input device.

Next, at step 163, the administrator programs the desired networkaddress or addresses to which web traffic will be re-directed when acorresponding condition is satisfied. The network address may be adesired URL or other known network destination type of similarfunctionality. So, for example, a programmed condition established usingan active node may establish that upon satisfaction of a condition (asautomatically verified with network-accessible data), incoming webtraffic (such as may be received from user device interaction withtouchpoints as previously described) may be re-directed to a desirednetwork address, such as a first URL. What necessarily follows is thatif the condition is not satisfied, then the web traffic will bere-directed to a different network address, such as a second URL or thelike established by the administrator via the graphical user interface.Alternatively, when the condition is not satisfied, web traffic may nobe re-directed at all from the re-direction server and desired contentmay be presented instead. In further alternate embodiments, the secondURL may be an established default URL or default web content for allre-directions in the absence of an established programmed condition.

Next, at step 164, the graphical user interface (such as graphical userinterface 170) displays a visual representation of active nodes andnetwork destinations as established by the administrator, non-limitingexamples of which are shown in FIGS. 17-19. The administrator may thusvisual inspect the programmed conditions and resulting network addressdestinations that have been established, preferably in a suitablyintuitive manner. This may allow the administrator to visually verifythat the programmed conditions will yield the desired re-directionresults.

Next, at step 165, the graphical user interface may allow theadministrator to simulate the programmed conditions and re-directions,if desired. If the administrator does not wish to simulate, the process160 continues to step 168 below. Otherwise, the process 160 continues tostep 166, where the graphical user interface provides simulatedconditional re-direction outcomes of web traffic based on currentprogrammed conditions and re-direction network address. This informationmay be displayed, for example via the interface 150 of FIG. 15 above, orother useful equivalent. The simulation mode, when activated, may usereal time-network traffic (that is not actually re-directed in thesimulation phase) or instead may use simulated web traffic that isgenerated randomly or according to programmed parameters by there-direct server itself.

Next, at step 167, the graphical user interface requests whether thesettings are acceptable based on the simulated web traffic. If theadministrator indicates affirmatively, the process 160 continues to step168 below. Otherwise, the process returns to step 162 above, whereprogrammed conditions and destinations can be re-programmed.

Finally, at step 168, once the above programmed conditionalre-directions are accepted by the administrator, the re-direct serverautomatically and continuously re-directs web traffic in accordancetherewith. Re-direction data may continuously be collected and stored bythe web server in conventional databases or the like. For example, thenumber of interactions between users (which may include hundreds,thousands or more simultaneous users at any given time) and web sites atthe re-direction addresses under a given condition may be monitored andtracked, preferably in an anonymous fashion with respect to each user'sidentity. This may include determining the total number of sales thatmay have occurred after a re-direction of a user to a merchant web siteunder one or more conditions. Trends in the resulting data may be usedto optimize future re-directions, in order to, for example, drive orincrease sales at a merchant site, increasing the number of returningusers to a website, or other useful resulting analytical data that maylikewise be used without limitation.

FIG. 17 is an exemplary screen display of the graphical user interface170 presented to an administrator for establishing conditionalre-directions of web traffic as described herein. In this instance, acondition-less, static re-direction to a network address destination isdepicted. The graphical user interface 170 may include an entry pointicon 172, representing the initial computer network address to whichincoming web traffic (such as resulting from a user interaction with atouchpoint) is received. As such, it may be a visual representation ofthe re-direct server running the graphical user interface 170.

The graphical user interface 170 may further include a destination icon174 representing a network address destination (i.e., a URL, IP addressor other useful type of network address) to which the incoming webtraffic is to be re-directed.

The graphical user interface 170 may further include one or moreprogrammed condition icons 176, each representing programmed conditionsthat may activated by the administrator by selection and placementwithin the graphical user interface 170. Such programmed conditions mayrelate to variables such as: the geographic location of a user, the timeof day at that geographic location, a weather condition at thatlocation, user device type, a radial distance from a geographiclocation, a future or forecasted weather condition, a historical weathercondition, a past, present or future individual weather variable (i.e.,temperature or humidity), an outcome of a pseudo-random numbergenerator, a user's referral status, a returning user status, afrequency of touchpoint interaction by a user, a history of touchpointinteractions of a user, a social media activity of a user, a socialmedia trending topic, and a keyword search entered into a search engineby a user. This will be described further with respect to FIGS. 18-19.In this instance, however, no conditions for re-directing web traffichave yet been established. Accordingly, this set-up representsconventional static re-directions of web traffic from one web site toanother website or network destination.

The graphical user interface 170 may further include a toggle button 178for toggling textual representations of programmed conditions andnetwork address destinations on the display of the graphical userinterface 170. Accordingly, upon a selection of the toggle button 178,text describing the programmed condition may be presented near anyactive node placed on the graphical user interface 170 and textidentifying the destination network address may appear near thedestination icon 174. Upon de-selection of the toggle button 178, thetext descriptions of the programmed conditions and destination networkaddresses may be removed from the graphical user interface 170.

FIG. 18 depicts the graphical user interface 170 in which an active nodeicon 182 representing a single condition for establishing re-directionto a second destination network address is programmed by theadministrator. In various embodiments, the administrator may haveselected the active node icon 182 from one of the available programmedcondition icons 176. Upon selection and placement of an exemplaryweather condition icon from the programmed condition icons 172, theadministrator may place the weather condition icon as the active nodeicon 182. The administrator may then program the weather condition to bea temperature condition at the geographic location of the useroriginating the incoming web traffic, for example, “temperature greaterthan or equal to 70 degrees Fahrenheit.’ The administrator may thenprogram the destination icon 174 to a first network address, where webtraffic will be directed when the programmed condition of the activenode 182 is not met. The administrator may then set a second destinationicon 184 to a second network address, where web traffic will be directedwhen the programmed condition of the active node 182 is met. Theprogrammed condition and destination addresses may be toggled on and offwith the toggle button 178.

Any number of additional active nodes and destinations may then be addedand edited, as desired. Accordingly, FIG. 19 depicts an exemplary screendisplay of the graphical user interface 170 as presented to anadministrator in which multiple conditions and re-direction destinationshave been established. In particular, a second active node icon 192representing a second programmed condition, and a third destination icon194 representing a third network address have been placed by anadministrator on the graphical user interface 170. Accordingly, when thecondition represented by active node 183 is not met, all incoming webtraffic will be directed to the destination programmed for destinationicon 174. When the condition represented by active node icon 182 hasbeen met, but the condition represented by second active node icon 192has not been met, then all incoming web traffic will be re-directed tothe second network address programmed for the second destination icon184. Finally, when the condition represented by active node icon 182 hasbeen met, and the condition represented by second active node icon 192has also been met, then all incoming web traffic will be re-directed tothe third network address programmed for the third destination icon 194.Additional active nodes may also be placed with each active nodecorresponding to a new network destination in similar manners.

The graphical user interface 170 may include further icons representingfunctions that are available. For example, a simulate button may beprovided to allow the administrator to simulate programmed conditionsagainst real or simulated web traffic. A save button may be provided forsaving and running the programmed conditions. An edit button may beprovided for allowing the user to edit the active nodes and destinationsestablished in the graphical user interface 170. A trash button may beprovided to delete one or more of the active nodes displayed on thegraphical user interface 170.

FIG. 20 depicts exemplary programming for setting a new conditionalre-direction destination, for example, the new active node 182, inaccordance with the foregoing.

FIG. 21 depicts exemplary programming for setting one or moresupplementary conditional re-direction destinations, for example, thesecond active node 192, in accordance with the foregoing.

In various embodiments, the LINKNEXUS graphical user interface may beused to operate devices based on programmed conditions. For example,with the evolving technology represented referred to as the “Internet ofThings,” various consumer appliances and systems may be connected andcontrolled via computer networks. Such networked-controlled systemsinclude lighting, environmental controls, security systems, door locks,garage door openers, and the like. Network controlled consumerappliances may include refrigerators, dishwashing machines, clotheswashing machines, clothes dryers, televisions, entertainment systems andthe like. Network destinations as described in the foregoing mayconsequently include sending programming instructions to IoT devices, soinstead of redirecting to a network destination, an IOT server receivesthe instructions and operates one or many devices based on conditionsprogrammed via the graphical user interface 170.

As described in the foregoing, LINKNEXUS is a post-click engagementtool, allowing consumers to be directed to relevant content based onvariables unique to them including time of day, day of week, weatherconditions, referring sites, and other conditions as described in theforegoing. LINKNEXUS may also be used to determine how ads are served,thereby opening up an entirely new purchase opportunity for advertisers.

Traditionally digital ads have been purchased and served to targetaudiences based on content sites and volume alone. LINKNEXUS opens up anentirely new way to purchase ads, which is site and/or content agnosticbut provides a real-world targeting toolset, referred to asEnvironmental Purchasing Rules or EPRs. Now advertisers can create EPRsand purchase and/or bid on unique combinations of variables unique toconsumers. For example, advertisers can purchase ads:

-   -   on Tuesdays between LOAM and 1 PM local time when the weather is        sunny    -   on weekdays if a consumer is within 50 miles of any restaurant        location    -   if a consumer is in NY or NJ when its raining and the humidity        is over 80%    -   on Sundays after 5 PM if the consumer came from Google or Yahoo        and is on a Mobile device    -   Ii a consumer came from FACEBOOK, is on a PC or tablet and the        temperature is below 40 F; and many more combinations of desired        programmed conditions.

LINKNEXUS functionality offers advertisers two ad-placementopportunities:

1) Interstitial: After a consumer clicks a link, but before thatconsumer lands on the destination page (which is determined based onowner-created scenarios, as described in the foregoing) the consumer cansee an interstitial advertisement.

2) Modal/Popup: When arriving at the LINKNEXUS-programmed destinationpage, if conditions are met a modal/popup ad can be served to the enduser.

Publishers can simply access the LINKNEXUS site or add LINKNEXUS embedcode to their site by pasting it in (similar to any Analytics code) orfor WORDPRESS users, installing the WORDPRESS plugin. Not only will thepublisher get deep insights into their web traffic and have the abilityto dynamically determine destination based on real-world variables ofthe end user, but will also be able to set monetization options for bothgenerated links, and LINKNEXUS-powered websites. Each publisher usingLINKNEXUS is provided with a simple dashboard, such as the graphicaluser interface 170, allowing them to adjust monetization optionsincluding volume of ads placed, types of ads to show or not show,frequency of ads per user and much more.

Although the best methodologies have been particularly described in theforegoing disclosure, it is to be understood that such descriptions havebeen provided for purposes of illustration only, and that othervariations both in form and in detail can be made thereupon by thoseskilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope thereof,which is defined first and foremost by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method performed by a computer server system incommunication with remote computing devices over a communicationnetwork, comprising: establishing a re-direction web site on thecommunication network for receiving incoming web traffic andconditionally re-directing the web traffic, establishing a graphicaluser interface at the re-direction web site for receiving selections ofprogrammed conditions and a plurality of destination network addresses;storing, in an electronic memory, a first network addresses and a secondnetwork address in a computer-readable format received from thegraphical user interface; storing, in the electronic memory, a firstcondition for re-directing incoming web traffic to the first networkaddress, the first condition based on at least one of: first geographiclocations, first times at the geographic locations, and weatherconditions at the first geographic locations, which are determined inresponse to indications received from devices of users over thecommunication network; storing, in the electronic memory, a secondcondition for re-directing incoming web traffic to the second networkaddress, the second condition based on at least one of: secondgeographic locations, second times at the geographic locations, andweather conditions at the second geographic locations, which aredetermined in response to indications received from devices of usersover the communication network; receiving, at the re-direction web sitefrom a user device of a user, an indication of a interaction with atouchpoint that has been presented to the user and that directs abrowser of the user device to the re-direction web site; in response toreceiving the interaction, determining a geographic location of theuser, a time at the geographic location of the user, and a weathercondition at the geographic location of the user; re-directing the userdevice to the first network address when the first condition has beenmet; and when the first condition has not been met, re-directing theuser device to the second network address when the second condition hasbeen met.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the user device comprises aglobal positioning system (GPS) interface for determining the geographiclocation of the user, and the user device transmits the geographiclocation of the user with the indication.
 3. The method of claim 1,wherein the user device comprises a camera, including at least one of astill camera and a video camera, for imaging the touchpoint, and furthercomprises software instructions for decoding the touchpoint after saidimaging.
 4. The method of claim 4, wherein the touchpoint comprises atleast one of: a one-dimensional barcode, a two-dimensional barcode, aquick response (QR) code, a dataform, a dataglyph, alphanumeric text, aphotographic image, a symbology, a hardlink code, a Uniform ResourceLocator (URL), an input to a search engine, a visit to a social mediasite, a product packaging, a visual print media, audio data, visualdata, and audio-visual data.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein thecommunications network comprises at least one of: a data communicationsnetwork, a computer network, a cellular telephone network, a cellulardata network and a wireless network.
 6. The method of claim 1, whereinthe interaction comprises a transmission of an alphanumeric characterstring by Short Message Service (SMS) from the user device to an SMSaddress that is visually displayed to the user at the geographiclocation.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the weather condition at thefirst and second geographical locations is determined by referencing aweather site on the computer network.
 8. The method of claim 1, whereinthe at least one of the first condition and the second condition furtherincludes at least one real-time data variable that can be automaticallyverified by a data query on the data communication network.
 9. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the user device comprises at least one of: asmartphone and a computing device.
 10. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: storing, in the electronic memory, a third network addressand a third condition for re-directing incoming web traffic to the thirdnetwork address; and re-directing the user device to the third networkaddress when the first condition and the second condition are not met,and the third condition is met.
 11. The method of claim 10, wherein thethird condition requires only that the first condition and the secondcondition are not met.
 12. The method of claim 10, wherein the thirdcondition comprises at least one of: a geographic location of the userdevice, the time of day at the geographic location of the user device, aweather condition at the geographic location, a device type of the userdevice, a radial distance of the user device from a second geographiclocation, a future or forecasted weather condition at the geographiclocation, a historical weather condition at the geographic location, aindividual weather variable at the geographic location, an outcome of apseudo-random number generator, a referral status of the user device, areturning visitor status of the user device, a frequency of touchpointinteraction by the user device, a history of touchpoint interactions bythe user device, a social media activity of the user, a social mediatrending topic, a keyword search entered into a search engine by theuser, a level of inventory of a product, a score of a sports game, and avalue of a stock market ticker.